we have a 2006 beneteau 343 in mast furling sail and are looking for information on replacing the neil pryde sail which comes with the boat due to poor performance (the leech flutters) with a mainsail with vertical battens, the spar opening is only 5/16" wide. does anyone have any experiences or information on this subject?
If that main is the same age as the boat it should still be in decent shape, a bit of leech flutter will not have a serious effect on performance, certainly not as much as the furling main itself. Furling mains are one of those compromise features, you give up optimum performance for convenience. The newer battened furling mains are better than the battenless ones because the battens allow the sail to have some roach therefore greater sail area. There, look at the money you just saved. Cheers
